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The urge to explore is an ancient one in the human species. The earliest explorations were driven by physical needs like food and shelter. But later with greater resources at their disposal, human beings became curious about their extended geographical environment and began to venture further from their safe zone.

Over time mankind began to recognize that with successful exploration came rewards. In fact access to virgin natural resources was one of the driving factors behind the Golden Age of Exploration during the 15th and 16th centuries when many significant discoveries were made about the geography of the Earth. Again in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, much of the exploration of Africa and Asia were driven by the need to discover and colonize new markets for goods made by European countries.

The 20 Greatest Explorers of the World traces these currents in the journey of human exploration by focusing on the most famous explorers in history as well as some lesser known names who are nevertheless responsible for charting new territories. Ranging from classical Greece to the mid twentieth century, traversing all parts of the globe and indeed beyond it, these explorers are testament to the fact that the desire to know and discover has inspired humans across time and space in history.